Dispensing device



pri l, 31967 J. D. WELSH ETAL 3,333,454

DISPENSING DEVICE Filed July 14, 1965 INVENTORS JOM MHRESL JAMES D. weL5M fawd, Mw

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United States APatent O 3,313,454 DlSPENSlNG DEVICE .lames D. Welsh, 84Sampsondale Ave., and John J. Kresl, ggSgmpsondale Ave., both of WestHaverstraw, N.Y.

Filed .lilly 14, 1965, Ser. No. 471,929 1 Claim. (Cl. 222-102) Thisinvention relates to a device for dispensing the contents of collapsibletubes such as are used for example, for containing tooth paste, shavingcream and other materials of a pasty consistency.

lt is an object of the invention to provide a device of this kind whichcan be enclosed in ya suitable attrae tive casing and mounted on thewall of a bathroom or other location; in which the collapsible tube isplaced with its neck or outlet end disposed downwardly and which, by theturn of a knob, will be caused to progressively compress the tube andexpel its contents in regulatable quantities.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the pro vision of a casinghaving walls between which guide rods are mounted, and a roller-bearingcarriage slidably mounted on the rods, with one `of the rollers borne bysaid carriage having an extended shaft lbearing a knob. The tube to beevacuated is mounted uprightly by its engagement with a nipple tted atthe bottom of the casing and by the turning of the knob the tube iscompressed between the rollers and its contents expelled in regulatablequantities.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, l havedevised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularlypointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of theinvention is disclosed,

l FIG. l is a side elevational view, in a small scale, of atube-dispensing device constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the device with the cover of thecasing removed;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational View of the structure of FIG. 2 as seenfrom the left of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 4 4 of FIG.3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a perspective View of the base member of the casing, and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cover member of the casing on aslightly smaller scale.

The dispensing mechanism is contained within -a casing or housing, whichcan, if desired, lbe composed of a suitable plastic material, and whichis adapted to be fastened to a wall or other support 25 as shown in FIG.l.

The casing is composed of two parts, the base portion thereof beingindicated at 26, said base portion being adapted for mounting atlyagainst the wall 25 by means of screws or other similar fasteningelements extended through holes 27 formed through the back plate 28 ofthe base member.

The base member 26 includes end walls indicated respectively at 29 and30, such end walls being connected by a single side wall 31, there beingno opposite side wall but the side of the base from which a side wall isabsent being reinforced or stifened by means of a longitudinal rib shownat 32, said rib extending from the end wall 29 to the end wall 30.

The side wall 31 is provided with stepped parts 33 which provide for aush tit by the cover member 34 which slidably engages with the basemember. The cover member 34, which lits over the base membersubstantially as shown in FIG. 1, includes an imperforate side wall 35,the opposite `side wall 37 being notched or cut away substantially asshown at 38. This enables the end parts 39 and 40 of the side wall 37 tofit in the stepped parts 33 of the base member and permits the sidewall37 to thus lie flush with the side wall 31 of the base member. The notchor cut-out 33 is of such depth that the edge 41 -of the cover member isspaced away from the edge 42 of the side wall 31 so that the edges 41and 42 form an elongated slot 43 between them as shown in FIG. l.

The improved dispensing device contained in the casing includes a framecomposed of a pair of spaced, vertical, parallel rods 1 and 2 connectedat the top hy means of a cross plate 3 and connected at the bottom by asomewhat similar cross plate 4. The upper cross plate 3 is attached tothe end wall '30 of the base member by means of screws which passthrough the end wall 30 and enter the rods 1 and 2 thereby attaching therods to the cross plate while attaching the cross plate to the end wall36.

The cross plate 4 at the lower end of the frame is attached to the endwall 29 by screws 51 which pass through the end wall 29 and through thecross plate 4 and enter the rods 1 and 2. Nuts 52 are provided on therods 1 and 2 to secure a clamping effect.

Extending through the lower cross plate 4 and through an opening 54provided in the end wall 29 is a tubular nipple 55 for the threadablereception of the neck of a collapsible tube y6 such as is used forcontaining tooth paste, `shaving cream and other materials of a pastyconsistency.

The tube 6 when fitted in the dispensing position shown in FIG. 2 hasits neck iitted in the nipple 55 and the nipple has its lower enddirected downwardly below the wall 29 in dispensing position. Theportion of the nipple 55 that extends below the wall 29 receives aclosure cap 8 which can be hingedly attached to the nipple and can beswung away Ias shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2. As :an alternative, athread-on closure cap might be used. The tube 6 is thus held in avertical position and against rising movement.

Vertically slidable on the rods 1 and 2 is ya roller carriage whichconsists of blocks indicated respectively at 9 and 11 connected byshafts carrying rollers 12 and 13. The roller 12 is preferably coveredby -a soft and compressible material such as rubber 14, and the roller13 can be composed of metal and can be provided with a roughened orknurled `peripheral surface for frictionally engaging the surface of thetube 6 and securing traction against the same to thereby move the rollercarriage downwardly during the tube-compressing action. The slot 43permits any required up and down movement of the shaft 15.

The shaft 15 carries the roller 13 and on which the yroller is pinnedland said shaft is provided with an exn tended part which projectsthrough the slot 43. Said extended part of the shaft carries a knob 16,said knob being manually rotated to thereby turn the roller 13.

In the operation of the device, the tube 6 is placed within the frame,with the neck of the tube inserted in the nipple 55. The placement ofthe tube in place as above described is done while the roller carriageis in an elevated position.

The spacing between the rollers 12 and 13 is such that upon the descentof the roller carriage, the flattened end of the tube 6 will enterbetween the rollers, and when the roller 13 is rotated by turning theknob 16, the contents of the tube 6 will be squeezed out of and will owfrom the nipple to be captured on a brush or hand placed below thenipple. The carri-age will descend both by the action of gravity and bythe propulsive movement of the manually rotated roller 13 having itknurled surface frictionally engaging against the surface of the tubeand obtaining traction thereon. Thus, by merely turning the knob 16, thecontents of the tube can be expelled in desired quantities until theentire tube has been flattened and all of the con-tents thereof areexhausted.

While the cover member 34 of the casing is shown as a separated elementfrom the base member, the cover member can, if desired, be hingedlyattached to the base member.

Having thus described a single embodiment of the invention, it isobvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broadenough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexedclaim.

What we claim is:

A ydevice for dispensing the contents of a collapsible tube comprising,a casing having a base member provided with a side wall connected to xedand spaced end walls, a frame consisting of a pair of parallel guiderods connected at their ends by cross plates, the cross plates beingflatly disposed against and respectively attached to the end walls, acover member removably tted and secured over the base member and formingan enclosure therewith, said cover member having a side wall providedwith a cu-t-away portion defining a slot between one of its edges and-an edge of the side wall on the base member in immediate confrontingrelationship, a roller carriage slidable on the rods, rollers inside-by-side relation and between which a collapsible tube iscompressed, one of the rollers having a shaft extending through the slotand movable up or down therein, and means extending through one of theend walls of the casing for supporting a collapsible tube in an uprightposition to enable it to be compressed between the rollers, the carriagebeing movable down the rods with frictional contact of the rollersagainst the tube, there being no positive drive means connecting therollers.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,784,752 12/1930Ries 222-102 1,845,291 2/1932 Koontz 222-102 1,975,915 10/1934 Bannister222-102 1,989,713 2/1935 Smith et al. 222-102 X 2,550,537 4/1951 Derrick222-102 2,578,472 12/1951 Gunnarson 222-102 2,670,876 3/1954 Clouse222v-102 ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

N. L. STACK, Assistant Examiner.

